Review: MURDER ON THE ISLAND, Brian Kavanagh

• Format Kindle: (Amazon)
• File Size: 899 KB
• Print Length: 125 pages
• Publisher: Fontaine Publishing Group (December 9, 2015)
• Publication Date: December 9, 2015
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0195U68LU
• source: review copy provided by the author
• #6 in the Belinda Lawrence series

Synopsis (Amazon)

Belinda and Hazel find themselves on the island of Guernsey where they are invited by Sir Mark’s mother, Melba, Lady Sallinger. Other house
guests include her parents, a handsome interior designer, a slovenly bookseller, a Jesuit priest, and Catherine, a mysterious woman writer.
Soon after, the residents of the old Tudor mansion are thrown into confusion with the discovery of human remains buried in the garden.

The priest tells of the Guernsey Martyrs, burned alive in 1556 for theft, and he believes a silver cup from that theft, is hidden in the house.
One murder and a second mysterious death lead to revelations of past crimes that resonate to the present day and result in an exciting resolution tinged by the island’s history of Nazi occupation.

My Take

Belinda Lawrence travels to Guernsey to meet up with her fiance Mark Sallinger at his mother’s house to make arrangements for her wedding. Her parents are already there. She soon finds that her future mother-in-law is planning a society wedding, and then, to cap it all, Mark is called away suddenly on business. This leaves Belinda in an impossible situation.

There are several other house guests including Belinda’s parents, a housekeeper with a dark past, a woman researching the German occupation, an architect who specialises in house renovations, and a Jesuit priest. Belinda and her friend Hazel suspect not all are as they seem. An overnight storm cuts the power and with it their communication with the outside world. Wild winds lash the house, trees come down, and a murder occurs.

So here is a quick read, a satisfying cozy, that pulls in some Guernsey history, stories coming from the time of Bloody Mary, and then a little bit of recent history.

My Rating: 4.3

I’ve also read
4.2, BLOODY HAM
4.3, A CANTERBURY CRIME
4.3, A WICKED DESIGN